MissionFest

MissionFest is at the International Centre in Mississauga this weekend.
Janice & I are planning on driving down for Saturday...
We have room in the van...
let me know if you are interested!

He's Alive

Don Francisco, "He's Alive", Don is a brilliant story teller through song and this song is a classic.

Easter :: 12 March [Sunday]

Very early in the morning, the disciples go to Jesus’ tomb to find it empty. The course of human history is changed forever. He is Risen! He is risen indeed!

Passages: Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-18

Suggestion: Get up early and read the passages listed above. Rejoice in Jesus and his resurrection from and power over death! Greet people throughout the day saying, "He is Risen!"

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Day 40 :: 11 March [Saturday]

Jesus’ body remains in the tomb during the Jewish day of Shabbat (Sabbath).

Passages: Matthew 27:32-66

Suggestion: As Jesus "rested" on the Sabbath, be reminded of the rest that Jesus calls us to. Spend some time resting today by taking a nap or relaxing. Consider reflecting on the Apostles' Creed.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Improvising Upon "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross"

When I survey the wondrous cross, I am horrified. Tattered and torn skin…blood matted hair…pain induced quivers…the death of God. A man so battered and betrayed that words…fail.

Selah

When I survey the wondrous cross, its beauty startles me. The life…the love…the compassion…of the death of God. It…no, He summons me to feast upon that which I gaze. For some unresolved reason I accept the offer.

Selah

When I survey the wondrous cross, I am haunted.

For my soul knows…

my inmost being bows in contrition…

compunction convicts.

My hands, my thoughts, my eyes betray the reason for the death of God.

Selah

When I survey the wondrous cross, I am mystified. I search for it’s meaning, for its understanding…for the “why’s” of what I see. What was God doing on the cross? There are so many answers. The more doctrine digested, the more elusive and yet, simultaneously adjacent the death of God becomes.

Peter, why couldn’t you have kept it’s meaning to yourself? “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (I Pet. 2.21) Why must you involve us? Why must you summon me?

As if we want to…

as if I am willing…

to follow the example of Christ and His cross.

The cross is an example, an intricate design, on which we lay the transparent parchment of our lives and sketch our feeble outlines.

The cross is to be followed, like tracks in the snow. We step high and sink in deep to the openings made by The One who has gone before.

Excruciare…Latin for “out of the cross.” Excruciating People—those who live life out of the cross. Christians—those who have accepted the invitation to live an excruciating life. The cross is a way of life…an ethos. Mores not just morals. The cross is a culture for pain-absorbing, peace-making, love-wielding, price-paying, cup-drinking people.

When I survey the wondrous cross, I am terrified. For what I see and what I know demands my soul, my life, my all.

(An excerpt from the current writing project of the jazz theologian)

Good Friday prayer

Christine Sine posts this Good Friday prayer:

Christ Jesus you hung upon a cross and died for us

So that we might live for you

Your body was broken and your blood shed

So that we might be healed and made whole

You were faithful unto death

So that we might be faithful unto life

Your last command was that we might love one another

One family together from every tribe and nation

A new creation united through your sacrifice

Redeemed by your blood

Healed by your love

United by your covenant of peace

In your death may we find life

Day 39 :: 10 March [Good Friday]

Jesus is put on trial, flogged, forced to carry his cross, mocked by Roman soldiers and executed in the cruel Roman form of crucifixion on a hill called Golgotha ("the place of the skull").

Passages: Matthew 27:11-61; Mark 15:1-47; Luke 23:26-56; John 19:17-42

Suggestion: Find a cross, or an image of a cross. Spend several minutes looking at and reflecting upon the cross. Consider the significance and centrality of this symbol and what it means almost 2,000 years later. End by praying the Lord’s Prayer.

Good Friday

Churches in Orillia are gathering at First Baptist Church [265 Coldwater Road West, Orillia] for a Good Friday Service

Friday morning @ 10:00am

Day 38 :: 9 March [Thursday]

Today, Jesus and his disciples prepare for the Passover feast and eat the Last Supper together. Here Jesus washes their feet and tells them one will betray him. He and his disciples travel to the Garden of Gethsemane on the side of the Mount of Olives. It is here that Jesus prays and is arrested.

Passages: Matthew 26:17-68; Mark 14:12-52; Luke 22:7-53; John 13:1-18:11

Suggestion: From the perspective of one of the disciples, journal about what you might have felt when Jesus washed your feet and when he was arrested in the Garden.

Day 37 :: 8 March [Wednesday]

Nothing is recorded in Scripture as to what Jesus did on this day, but he certainly would have been thinking how all of human history would be changed in just a few short days.

Suggestion: Spend some significant time in prayer asking God to prepare your heart and allow you to truly grasp the depth and the significance of Easter this weekend.

Day 36 :: 7 March [Tuesday]

On this day, the disciples notice that the tree that Jesus spoke to yesterday had withered. Jesus returns to the temple and teaches. His authority is questioned by the religious leaders. He is also anointed in Bethany.

Passages: Matthew 21:18-23:39, 26:1-13; Mark 11:20-12:44, 14:1-9; Luke 20:1-21:38; John 12:1-11

Suggestion: Reflect upon the teachings of Jesus. Which of the readings sticks out to you the most? Why?

Day 35 :: 6 March [Monday]

Jesus enters the Temple and turns over all of the tables of the moneychangers. He also performs the only miracle of destruction, when he tells the fig tree that it would no longer produce figs.

Passages: Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11-12-19; Luke 19:45-48

Suggestion: Spend some time alone and read the passages listed above out loud.
What might Jesus have been thinking as he knew what would happen to him in the week ahead?

Palm Sunday 2

As followers of Jesus we are called to live the resurrection, to have our eyes and ears focused on the Risen Christ. Jesus’ resurrection is the central event of the Christian faith. As you prepare for Easter, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, this guide will help you navigate through the last week of the life of Jesus, leading up to the Cross and the Resurrection.

Today is the day of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. He comes into Jerusalem riding a donkey while people cheer and lay palm branches and cloaks down along the path.

Passages: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19

Suggestion: Sometime this week, watch Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ or one of the other films listed on the right, with your LIFEGroup, your friends/family or by yourself.

quote

Then what prevents you from seeing and hearing Him? Truly, there is so great a din in your heart, and so much loud shouting from your empty thoughts and fleshly desires that you can neither see nor hear Him. Therefore, silence this restless din, and break your love of sin and vanity. Bring into your heart a love of virtues and complete charity, and then you shall hear your Lord speak to you.

Walter Hilton, The Stairway of Perfection

Day 34 :: 4 April [Saturday]

Read:
Philippians 2:1-11

Reflect:

• According today’s reading, what is the heart of Jesus for you?
• What response is the Father looking for from us?
• How do the character traits of Jesus transfer over into your own life?

Spend some time praising God for what He has done by sending His Son, and ask Him to fill your heart with His character.

• How might you live out the life of Christ more this week?

Respond:
Father forgive me...

for neglecting so great a salvation,
for the words I’ve spoken in anger,
for the words I’ve left unspoken in fear.

Forgive me...

for not trusting you,
for my great indulgences in the world
for not seeking you with my whole heart

I give you thanks for the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.
For the covering I have in Him
Thank you for being a safe place, a refuge for my soul.
May I have the heart and mind of Jesus in all my relationships today.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Palm Sunday

This sunday - 5 April - is Palm Sunday
It's a day we mark Jesus' entry into Jerusalem
It's a day that begins what is called Passion Week... those last few days of Journeying Toward the Cross.

Plan on being @ Orillia Christian School for an exciting morning as we celebrate.

Day 33 :: 3 April [Friday]

Read:
1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Reflect:

• How does Paul view himself in relation to others?
• How do you see yourself in relation to the people in your life?
• How can you become more “like the people around you” without compromising the gospel in your own life?
• What would this look like?
• As you do this, what are some of the benefits that might come to the people you know?
• What is Paul’s greatest desire, as described in this passage?
• What do you want to be different about the world or about the church or about someone’s life because YOU lived?

Respond:
God, you have loved me with an everlasting love and I am grateful. Give me that same kind of love for the people all around me: my friends, the people I work with, my family, and yes, Lord, even those who I find it difficult to get along with. I confess to you that I think more about myself than about other people and thank you for forgiveness.

Day 32 :: 2 April [Thursday]

Read:
Acts 7

Reflect:

• Have you wanted to be part of a team carrying out a very important mission?

Those who follow Jesus are part of a team that will never be disbanded, with a mission of greatest importance!

• Do you see yourself as part of such a group?

God has called you out of the world, and has designed you in a unique way.
The book of Acts

• has to do with the mission of God's church
• it has to do with calling
• it has to do with living out the Life of Jesus here on earth.

No matter what specific role you have in God’s kingdom, know that you are directly connected to the King.
Read through Acts 7 and ask God to help you see yourself as part of a larger family with a great mission. Ask Him to help you see your role more clearly.
What part would you just love to live out in His kingdom?

Respond:
Captain of the one true army, I want to be on mission with you. I want to be a part of the generation that you raise up to advance your Kingdom into the darkness. Give me clarity to the part you’d have me carry out, and give me courage to follow you with everything that’s in me. For the glory of Jesus, amen.

Day 31 :: 1 April [Wednesday]

4 'whatever' challenges

1 :: Today :: whatever is on your heart to say to God, say it.
Break down the wall that keeps you from being honest with Him... come on, really... you're not fooling Him so try having an honest conversation full of all your fears, frustrations, hopes, dreams, and so on.


2 :: Today :: whatever God would have you share with others, share it.
Break down the wall that prevents your life from bring literal Light into literal Darkness... because that is what is really going on.


3 :: Today :: whatever your usual Christianity looks like, change it.
Break down the wall that says it all takes place "this way" and on "this part of the day/week/month/year."


4 :: Today :: whatever prayer you need to pray for your tomorrow to become wildly more engaging than whatever autopilot you're banking on, pray it.
Break down the wall that demands someone else is supposed to spur on your faith... your relationship with God... your part in the grand mission for your life.

Count all the "your" words in that sentence... notice a trend?

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17